It takes a special kind of courage to stand still in the face on five incoming dogs: the kind that foregoes the most basic of survival instincts, and that many would be quick to call “stupidity” instead. And would they be wrong?

As expected of police-trained hounds, two Growlithe leap towards Éclair and Monte, pinning them to the ground and effectively neutralizing them for the moment. The other three dogs surround you, but do not lunge, likely having been taught to hold back against humans until ordered otherwise. The five policemen catch up to their partners soon afterwards, and without a trace of hesitation, pull out their handguns and point them straight at you. This is not a sight you will be forgetting any time soon…

“Hands behind your head!”
“On your knees now!”

You decide you don’t have much of a choice for now, so you do as you’re told. One of the policemen, the oldest-looking of the bunch, with short grizzly hair and sunglasses, drops to your level and speaks in a low tone, barely audible above the Growlithe’s barking.

“You’re in big trouble young lady, I’m sure you realize that by now.” His voice is raspy and ominous, and you can tell he’s thoroughly enjoying this. “You should’ve stayed locked in that warehouse and starved to death; people with a face like yours don’t do well in prison.”

Suddenly, a thud next to you causes the policeman to shift his gaze, and so do you. One of the officers has just collapsed, lying motionless on the ground, felled by something nobody saw coming.

“H-his neck…. Poison Sting! Take cover!!”

Instinctively, the older officer picks you up off the ground effortlessly in a fireman’s carry and runs for the nearby crate, taking shelter behind it, as do the remaining police officers. The Growlithe also carry Éclair and Monte to safety, much to your short-lived relief – in a matter of seconds, there is a pistol pressed against your temple and the raspy-voiced man demands an answer.

“Start explaining! Do you have accomplices scattered around the other warehouses? What is your objective? Make it quick!”

Stay calm... Athena thought to herself, though she could already feel the tears welling up in her eyes from panic. As each officer pulled out their weapons, a lump rose in her throat. She knew it was probably just to get her to stay where she was, and she had no intention of moving at all unless instructed. Her knees scraped the pavement slightly as she kneeled down.

She gasped aloud as the raspy-voiced officer got in her face. Unsure if she should make eye contact, her focus darted back and forth from her scared reflection in his glasses to the badge on his chest. She swallowed hard, attempting to say something, anything that would get him to understand she was not who they were looking for. Before she could open her mouth to speak, an officer crumbled to the ground. Though small, she could see a stinger partially buried in their neck. Athena didn't even know a Pokemon move could take down a fully grown adult so easily.

Another gasp came out involuntarily as she was picked up. She looked frantically to see if her Pokemon were safe. Eclair, who had been thrown haphazardly on to the back of one of the Growlithe, made eye contact with her trainer, fear in both of their eyes. Monte had been picked up by the seat of his pants and somehow seemed to be enjoying the ride. Athena felt relieved the young Pokemon didn't quite understand the weight of the situation.

The fact that someone else had attacked the officers meant she was off the hook, right? Or so she thought until she felt the cold metal of the officer's gun press against her head. Athena was glad she was on the ground, her legs were shaking too much to stand. Accomplices? Objective? The trainer had really been in the worst place at the worst time. They must think she was someone incredibly dangerous if they felt the need to put the gun so close to her like this. Was this even legal? She swallowed down the urge to start sobbing, and did her best to reply in the calmest voice possible.

"My name's Athena and I-I uh, well my Trainer ID is 3-9-6-0... um" She paused, her mind was too flooded with panic to remember the last few numbers of her identification. "I-it's in my backpack! In the front pocket." So far she had done a good job of holding back tears. She was pretty proud of her response, too. It didn't seem like anything a criminal might say to protect themselves. She had been complying so far, she only hoped that they weren't trying to read into her reactions too much. Once they saw her ID, and the fact that the Kalos native had barely been a trainer for over a month and didn't even have a single gym badge, she was sure they would understand they had the wrong girl.